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Custom Surveys - Creating and distributing questions to suppliers

This article provides a guide of the Custom Survey feature, focusing on distribution logic, supplier onboarding, notification systems, and the response review lifecycle.

Survey Manager’s Guide

For Admins, Carbon Managers, and Environmental Experts managing surveys.

1. Creating and Publishing a Survey

  • Access: Navigate to the Custom Surveys page via the sidebar (under Supplier Management).

  • Creating a new survey: Enter a title and build your questionnaire. You can add single-choice, multiple-choice, or descriptive text questions.

  • Due Dates: Set a survey due date. This date will automatically be assigned to every supplier's task.

  • Linking: Connect your survey to a specific Measurement Project. This is required before you can distribute it.

Create a question by providing the:

  • Title

  • Response type (Mandatory / Optional)

  • Choices (applicable for Multiple or Single choice)

  • Expected answer (applicable for Text-based answers. This is the prompt displayed to help users understand the type of responses expected.)

Choices available for selection:

  • Single choice: The user may select one of the available options only

  • Multiple choice: The user may select one or more of the available options

  • Text: The user may provide a freeform answer.

Duplicate question checks are also available to ensure that questions are not repeated.

Create a child question by clicking on the "Add follow up" button. Here, provide information on the question and expected response, and select the conditional response (response) in the parent question. When users select this response, this question will be displayed.

View of multiple choice questions. It is possible to flag multiple responses. If any one of these are selected by an assignee, their response will be flagged.

An alternative way organising questions to allow survey creators to focus on a single question.

  • Publishing: Once satisfied, click Publish. This locks the configuration and allows you to start distribution.

2. Distributing to Suppliers

  • Eligibility: You can only distribute surveys to onboarded suppliers (those with active user accounts).

  • Selection: Filter suppliers by measurement year, select the recipients, and click Distribute. Recipients must be onboarded suppliers.

    For more information on creating a supplier and inviting the user, refer to this guide.

  • Notifications: The system automatically sends a notification to the supplier's contact person informing them they have been assigned a new survey.

3. Reviewing and Requesting Revisions

  • Monitoring: Use the Review Responses tab to track progress (Draft vs. Submitted).

  • Reviewing: View answers By Supplier or By Question. The system highlights "Flagged" choices or answers that don't match your "Expected" criteria.

  • Requesting Revisions (The "Needs Review" Flow):

    • If a supplier's data is incorrect, click the "Needs Review" button on their response.

  • Add inline comments to specific questions to explain what needs to be changed.

  • This moves the survey back to the supplier’s task list so they can edit it.

Examples of use cases for surveys

1. Collecting Deforestation Commitments

Companies in the food, timber, or paper industries need to ensure their supply chains do not contribute to forest loss.

  • Survey Goal: Verify if suppliers have No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) policies.

  • Question Setup:

    • Question 1 (Single Choice): "Does your company have a formal public commitment to zero deforestation?"

      • Options: Yes / No / In Progress.

    • Question 2 (Follow-up if 'Yes'): "Please provide the URL or upload the policy document outlining this commitment." (Text/Link).

    • Question 3 (Multiple Choice): "Which commodities in your supply chain are covered by this policy?"

      • Options: Palm Oil, Soy, Beef, Paper/Pulp, Timber, Other.

    • Flagging Logic: Flag "No" to identify high-risk suppliers who require immediate engagement.

2. Workplace Safety (Social & Governance Disclosures)

This is critical for BRSR, CSRD, or general GRI reporting to ensure ethical labor practices.

  • Survey Goal: Quantify safety performance and compliance with labor laws.

  • Question Setup:

    • Question 1 (Text): "What was your Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) for the last calendar year?"

      • Expected Answer: Provide a numerical value (e.g., 1.5).

    • Question 2 (Single Choice): "Do you have an ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety) certification?"

      • Options: Yes / No.

    • Question 3 (Follow-up if 'No'): "Describe the management system you use to identify and mitigate workplace hazards." (Text).

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